Oprah Inspires a Transcendental Meditation Reawakening

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Welcome to the year 2012. Some might see it as 1969 revisited, considering protests of all sorts happening in major cities, marijuana as medicine (legally this time), and a refreshed interest in meditation. If the Beatles could make something so popular 40 years ago, Oprah Winfrey is the lady who can set the tone for our country’s trends and obsessions today.

The latest news of Winfrey’s attraction to Transcendental Meditation (TM) is not just about her craving to reduce stress, feel happy and content in life; it is born out of a deep desire to connect with “that which is God.” In other words, her motivation for practicing is to find the divine in herself, through her thoughts, her mind, and her body.

Transcendental Meditation is a type of practice that does not require a set standard, method, or deprivation of anything to achieve; it is just a simple way to stream thoughts so that you can connect with the source of thought that is believed to come from a higher power. Call it God, the Goddess, the Universe, or Your True Self; this higher thought can also come in handy when success and triumph are on the line.

Take the late, great, Steve Jobs for example. In his biography, Jobs was said to have loved taking walks amongst the trees to think and discuss his ideas. He said walking and talking was a way for him to let his thoughts flow like a river, much like the goal of TM. This was a way for him to organize, discard, or act upon those thoughts that inspired him the most.

After its die-out in the Regan Era, TM had been put on a shelf. Thanks to the media, the end of the world scare, and the popularity of yoga and meditation, TM is once again rearing its mystical head in our society of spiritual seekers and business icons alike.

If it worked for David Lynch, the Dalai Lama, and the Doors, it will work for Oprah. If it works for Oprah, you can be sure it will be something that will spark the interest of millions of Americans across the country. We may not be practicing to inspire peace signs in protest of the Vietnam War, but history does have a way of repeating itself.

Ask anyone who is privy to the Mayan Calendar or the dawning of the Aquarian Age, and they will tell you that a huge awakening is taking place. Perhaps it is time to trade in our stale thoughts for a new way of thinking. Can you imagine all the people living a life in peace? You might think you’re a dreamer, but I guarantee you are not the only one.

18 comments

I think it's very helpful and encouraging to know or meet and mix with with enlightened people on a daily basis. Then it is also easier to believe that many people on the right track.

However, while there are thousands being killed around the world (Syria), while Palestinians endure bitter restrictions and thousands more are starving elsewhere; While the heat is being turned up on the poor innocent Iranian people when their leader strictly forbids the manufacture of nuclear weapons - I can't even imagine that we are on the right track.

Mahatma Gandhi was a great fan of it, one day in Delhi he went to the dentist. Just as the dentist was going to give him anaesthetic, he stopped him and explained that it wasn't necessary because ...he had Transcended dental medication

I learned TM back in the 70s, it cost one months salary. It hurt at the time to have to pay that much as I was living hand to mouth having just started working the year before. But it was money well spent as once you learn how to meditate there is no further cost and the benefits just keep on coming. Glad a resurgence is on the way, if we all meditated the world would be a much happier and peaceful place. The use of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications would drop dramatically.

I learned TM in the early 70s and used it to have surgery without anesthetic. I use it for extreme pain control and I live a stress-free life. I've also used it to control surgical pain and asthma attacks.

I'm always happy to see someone say in print that "a huge awakening is taking place". I've been thinking this for several years and am really heartened to see how this "awakening" is making itself known in the world. Most people see the negative, the violence toward people, other animals, and the planet, and point to that to dispute this contention, but I see the popularity of sites like Care2, the Occupy movement (around the world), Oprah and her cohorts, the way people are going around the gov't to help each other, the rise of vegan/vegetarian, and the growing interest in metaphysical, etc as signs we're moving in the right direction. When we finally reach the tipping point, there will be no stopping us! Bring on the TM!